Nigeria: WCC Ogoni Report, 4/8/97

Nigeria: WCC Ogoni Report

Date distributed (ymd): 970408

WOA Document

WCC REPORT DOCUMENTS OPPRESSION OF NIGERIA'S OGONI PEOPLE

The Ogoni people of Nigeria have suffered extensive
environmental pollution and political repression under
the military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha. The
Ogoni crisis attracted international attention in November
1995 when the military government executed Ken Saro-Wiwa
and eight other Ogoni environmentalists who were members
of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People
(MOSOP).

Now this struggle has been exhaustively documented in
a special report published by the World Council of
Churches (WCC), "Ogoni: The Struggle Continues."
Written by Dr. Deborah Robinson of the WCC's Program
to Combat Racism who visited Ogoniland in 1996, the
report includes detailed background on the economic
and political situation in Nigeria, a history of the
military dictatorship, and an extensive review of the
role of the oil industry in Nigeria's political economy.

The Ogoni people live in the oil-rich Niger Delta, a
region which has been heavily exploited by Shell and
other multinational oil companies, in cooperation with
the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC). Oil exports provide roughly 90 percent of the
foreign exchange earnings of Nigeria's military government.
The Ogoni and other minority groups in the Delta realize
little if any benefit from these oil revenues.

The WCC report confirms MOSOP's claims of the environmental
devastation which oil production has inflicted on the
people of the Niger Delta. It includes evidence of
oil spills, the dumping of oil into waterways, continual
flaring of waste gas, and the hazardous above-ground
oil pipes that crisscross the region.

The report also describes in detail the Nigerian military's
efforts to suppress Ogoni protests. "A quiet state
of siege prevails even today in Ogoniland. Intimidation,
rape, arrests, torture, shooting and looting by the
soldiers continue to occur,'' Robinson writes. Her
conclusions are supported by interviews which provide
first-hand accounts of beatings, torture, and intimidation.

Churches have also been targeted by the Nigerian authorities.
Robinson heard many accounts of the harassment and
arrest of church leaders; one minister said sometimes
pastors are told what to preach and pray about.

In a preface to the report, the Rev. Dr. Sam Kobia,
Director of the WCC's Unit III (Peace, Justice and
Creation), notes that the Ogoni case highlights the
deteriorating political situation throughout Nigeria.
The Ogoni have dared to stand up for their rights,
"even unto death" and "have borne the
worst brunt of the military repression."

Kobia says the report is a moral challenge to the international
community to do something about the situation: "The
time to show solidarity is now."

President Clinton imposed a range of sanctions on Nigeria
following the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa. These included
restrictions on arms sales, visas, and air traffic
between the United States and Nigeria.

Last year, Congress considered but did not act on legislation
which would have imposed more stringent sanctions on
Nigeria. The measures under consideration stopped short
of a ban on the importation of Nigerian oil. A November
1996 WCC meeting, which brought together church representatives
from Nigeria, Europe, and North America, recommended
a boycott of Nigerian oil.

In the U.S., copies of "Ogoni: The Struggle Continues"
(106 pp.) are available from the Washington Office
on Africa at $5.00 each plus postage and handling ($2.50
for the first copy, $1.00 for each additional copy).

To order, please complete the form below and return
it with payment to the Washington Office on Africa,
110 Maryland Ave., NE, #509, Washington, DC 20002.
Please make checks payable to WOA.